Editor’s Note: much reader attention to this article, and a lengthy comment How to Measure Attention via MediaPost (source: Jonah Goodhart, CEO, Moat)
Advertising is just storytelling. String together some images and words to prod people to buy products. While the industry can effectively develop messages for TV and traditional media, it is trying to figure out how to tell better stories in digital.
Nearly all people (99%) who see online ads don’t click on them. 92% of U.S. retail spend happens in the physical world. There is virtually no relationship that exists between clicks and actual sales.
Still, it remains to be seen if digital metrics can translate as easily as tracking success at physical stores. For instance, you can monitor how many people walk buy the store versus going inside; how much time is spent; active versus passive shoppers, etc. “With those signals I could begin to understand attention,” said Goodhart. “The same theory is true in digital,” he said. We begin by tracking signals. How much time spent on a page; scroll down; page signals; ad signals; flip to another tab. “The right denominator for a marketer is attention.”